Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses
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ItemInvestigating the Voice Teacher’s Approach: An Australian Perspective( 2019)This thesis investigates the background, training, and teaching practices of exemplary classical and music theatre voice teachers working in Australia. Through mixed methods data collection, this thesis aims to identify common characteristics in self-reported and observed approaches taken by voice teachers. Psychological underpinnings in their teaching practices are identified, specifically in how they contribute to the teacher’s overall approach to teaching singing. Associations between these traits, along with teacher training and experience, are considered in how they influence the achievements of their students. Analyses are triangulated to offer a comprehensive understanding of the voice teacher’s approach. The first study investigated 13 voice teachers’ perceptions of their pedagogical practices through face-to-face interviews. Findings indicate that these teachers adopt an individualised approach, seek clarity and comprehension, and support their students’ independent learning practices. Their approaches are largely informed by their own pedagogical influences and a love of teaching. Empathy and leadership were also identified in the teachers’ self-report of their practices. The second study expanded to include 123 participants through an online survey exploring associations between teacher training, background, empathy, and leadership and the success of their students. Findings demonstrated significant associations between greater student achievement and the teacher’s own performance and teacher training and achievements as well as the number of students they have taught. Teacher leadership, specifically training facilitation and positive feedback, and teacher empathy also positively influence student achievement. The third study investigated the observed practices of seven classical and music theatre voice teachers in the context of delivering one-to-one lessons. Findings indicate that these voice teachers demonstrate empathy and transformational leadership in the one-to-one lesson context. These traits are critical ingredients to the successful communication of their extensive technical knowledgebase in an individualised manner. The teachers adapt their theoretical and practical knowledge to the individual student through an empathic and facilitative framework, drawing conclusions about the student through intimate, finely tuned, and constant verbal and non-verbal exchanges taking place throughout the lesson. Clear communication that honours both the teacher’s methods and the student’s individual needs is established in the initial, formative lessons. A strong student-teacher relationship then develops throughout their tuition whereby rapport and trust are established through an ongoing empathic response and a transformational style of leadership. In addition to learning how to sing through a vocal regime specific to their physical and developmental needs, the student is encouraged to explore their own independent learning practices through achievable goals with the ongoing support of their voice teacher. These findings offer new understandings of the voice teacher in Australia. A theoretical model has been developed for examining modern-day voice pedagogy practices.
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ItemTiberiu Brediceanu's Doine şi cântece poporale româneşti and folk-inspired art song( 2019)During the twentieth century, ethnomusicologist and composer, Tiberiu Brediceanu (1877 – 1968) was at the forefront of the development of the Romanian national school of music. Brediceanu created one of the largest collections of Romanian folksongs, assembling over two thousand melodies. In his collection Doine si cantece poporale romanesti (Doinas and other Romanian Folksongs, 1927), Brediceanu set traditional folksongs in the style of lieder, arranging eighty folksongs for voice and piano. Doine si cantece poporale romanesti is tailored to the classically cultivated voice and is one of the largest collections of Romanian art songs. The purpose of my research is to provide an interpretative guide for twenty-nine selected pieces from Brediceanu’s collection, with particular relevance for English-speaking performers. The songs were chosen to represent a range of genres, dramatic atmospheres and time periods (Brediceanu gathered the songs in Doine si cantece poporale romanesti over more than thirty years). This thesis comprises two parts: a folio of recordings constituting 75% of the thesis; and a dissertation constituting 25% of the thesis. The folio includes recordings of twenty-nine songs from Brediceanu’s Doine si cantece poporale romanesti, as well as other works by Brediceanu and his Romanian contemporaries. A context for these works is provided through further recordings of European folk-based art songs of the 19th and 20th centuries. The dissertation provides an introduction to Tiberiu Brediceanu and Romanian folk music, then explores the interpretation of each of the twenty-nine songs selected from Doine si cantece poporale romanesti, considering aspects of interpretation based upon Romanian folk-practices. This section also includes poetic translations and phonetic transliterations of each song followed by a pronunciation guide for non-Romanian singers.
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ItemThe Pipa and Zheng Topics in Chinese Solo Piano Works during the Twentieth Century (1915-1999)( 2019)This thesis focuses on discussing two important topics, pipa and zheng, in Chinese solo piano works from 1915 to 1999. During the twentieth century, Chinese composers endeavoured to combine Western composing techniques with elements taken from Chinese traditional musics. It is through their successive efforts that we see the emergence and development of the pipa and zheng topics in music for the piano. Based on the research methods of topic theory and cultural identity, this thesis analyses a number of solo piano works during 1915-99 and establishes a preliminary lexicon of the pipa and zheng topics.
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ItemFolio of Original Compositions 2012-2016 and a Dissertation entitled: Elements of Chinese philosophy and poetry as compositional inspiration( 2018)This submission includes a folio of original compositions fo 90–120 minutes in length. This is accompanied by a dissertation (exegesis) illuminating the folio works in technical, philosophical and aesthetic ways. A recurring and significant thread appearing within my compositions since I began composing is the inspiration I have drawn from aspects of Chinese philosophy and poetry. This inspiration has never been exclusive, however I have consistently returned to these sources to find ideas to express in my music. This thesis examines how this inspiration has guided my work and the broader influence and philosophy behind the creation, performance and interpretation of my music.
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ItemEnhancing music performance self-efficacy through psychological skills training( 2019)The psychological health of the performer is important to achieving performance success. Determining effective means of enabling performers to manage performance issues and enhance their musical endeavours is therefore of utmost importance. Whilst there has been a strong focus in this area within higher education there is still more to be achieved in the training of younger musicians. Self-efficacy is a strong predictor of achievement and a key factor in well-being. Yet, few interventions have targeted this construct or been designed for adolescent students. Music educators are ideally placed to enhance self-efficacy within music lessons. An intervention model was constructed using the four sources of efficacy information as a conceptual framework. A survey of 236 Australian music educators provided an understanding of how teachers intuitively develop performance self-efficacy. Qualitative analyses, coded to the four sources (mastery experiences, verbal persuasion, vicarious experience, and physiological and affective states), revealed that teachers were most likely to advise more performing and employ verbal persuasion. Pedagogical recommendations for fostering self-efficacy were outlined, further informing the intervention model. A 14-week blended learning, teacher-guided program was designed, embedding skill development into practice and lessons. It encouraged training in standard psychological performance competencies (arousal regulation, imagery, attentional control, cognitive restructuring, pre-performance routines) with an additional focus on performance simulation and self-evaluation. A pilot study (n= 8) supported the utility of this approach on performance self-efficacy, multidimensional anxiety and performance. An amended program incorporating participant feedback was subsequently tested in two main studies within class (intervention n=47; control n=25) and studio (intervention n=24; control n=7) music lessons. Self-efficacy was significantly enhanced in comparison to the controls who completed their normal music curriculum. This was associated with improvements in anxiety, psychological performance skills and self-, teacher- and independently-evaluated music performance. Differential treatment effects were also observed for the two instruction conditions that may be related to sample-specific variables such as teaching environment or age. These results provide preliminary support for the self-efficacy intervention model developed in this study. They also indicate that music educators without specialised psychological training or self-efficacy specific knowledge can influence a range of psychological skills associated with well-being and performance, enabling preventative measures to be implemented at a young age within the adolescent music curriculum. This program provides an accessible and practical method for delivering key skills associated with success and well-being.
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ItemVocal Performance and Affective Delivery in the Music of Heinrich Schütz( 2019)Seventeenth century German composer Heinrich Schuetz is renowned for his skill in aligning music and text and for adopting the new Italian style that had emerged in the early part of the seventeenth century. Schuetz’s works demonstrate a strong affective component that is often acknowledged in the musicological literature, and yet remains elusive in the performance of his works. This thesis brings together the fields of musicology, performance practice research and vocal performance to examine Schuetz’s vocal works and their performance practices. Drawing on the historical background to highlight the changes in musical thought that led to the newer, more affective style of music in the seventeenth century, this thesis asserts that the affective components in Schuetz’s music place demands on performers to approach his music in ways that reflect those affective intentions. This necessitates a practical exploration based initially on an understanding of how rhetoric and affective delivery pervaded musical and wider culture of the seventeenth century and how they were manifested in the works of Schuetz. The practical realisation of these ideas is contained in an associated performance portfolio which is analysed in the final part of the thesis. It is in the translation that occurs between the written score and the music in its sonic form that the notion of affective delivery and performance can be seen to coalesce, and the work in this thesis reveals a style of performance with the aim of matching the affective intentions of the composer’s works themselves.
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ItemOrpheus Unleashed: Creative Interpretations and Renditions of Henry Purcell’s Secular Songs( 2019)This practice-led study contributes to interdisciplinary Purcell scholarship with an investigation of the composer’s secular songs for solo voice through the interpretative frameworks of historically informed performance practice and postmodern gender theory. I conduct thorough analyses of pieces in order to analyse and amplify multivalent song texts as well as scrutinise performance choices that have arisen from the interpretation of Purcell’s notation. Through critical self-reflection, I highlight my stylistic influences and text-led treatment of Restoration continuo songs amid a broad vocal repertoire in the portfolio featuring performances spanning the Renaissance to contemporary Australian. Close readings of interpretative connections between poetry and notation serve as the rationale behind my analyses and creative portfolio, culminating in what I perceive as comprehensive and meaningful engagement with this song collection in both theoretical and performative realms. While my vocal craft is grounded in historical enquiry, I also introduce alternative readings of historical issues through consultation with both secondary literature and late seventeenth-century sociocultural discourses to problematise narrative threads and character actions. The more imaginative analyses form associations between scores and broader conceptual topics as the basis for novel—even ‘rebellious’—re-interpretations of poetic themes. Such readings stem from my own practice and thinking as a musician. Purcell’s domestic songs are typically overshadowed by widespread scholarly interest in the composer’s larger theatrical works. This study, therefore, extends and refines the interdisciplinary work featured in tercentennial research associated with Purcell and re-assesses the repertoire through a new categorisation of poetic themes. I seek to assist vocalists in their navigation of this collection by documenting my readings through an autoethnographic lens and call attention to the interpretative freedoms inherent in Purcell’s under-prescriptive notation. From the perspective of a singer, these are the creative interpretations that I ‘unleash’ upon the secular solo songs.
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ItemThe Figure of Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679–1745) in the History of Emotions( 2019)The music of Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679–1745) was not well known until the late twentieth century. In academic and public discourse alike, Zelenka has often been described as having led a miserable life, as a melancholic, hypochondriac misanthrope. While the accuracy of these claims has sometimes been questioned, no scholar has undertaken a genealogy of this construction of Zelenka. This thesis offers such a genealogy, arguing that the influence of stereotypes from Zelenka’s biography has accrued over time, while demonstrating that eighteenth-century source materials shed little light on Zelenka’s personality. The thesis also explores the question of why understanding who Zelenka was "as a person" has become such a point of concern in modern Zelenka reception. The thesis takes the figure of the composer-as-a-person as one part of a bipartite construction, the other being the metonymical composer-as-creative-unity (represented by a body of compositions), and it shows how these two parts have mutated and shifted in relation to one another since the eighteenth century, and have thus constituted a changing historical figure of Zelenka. However, this thesis constructs this history on a theoretical apparatus situated within the overlap of reception study and the history of emotions, an overlap which emphasises the close relationship between histories of interpretation and histories of feeling. This helps to explain how emotions have played a role in the historical development of the figure of Zelenka, and also how this inter-subjective entity has become part of the emotional conditions in which Zelenka’s music has been received. This thesis draws on extensive archival research, statistical approaches from music psychology, semi-structured interviews with scholars and musicians (or scholar/musicians), and it also proposes an innovative historical application of the BRECVEMAC model from music psychology to analyse reviews of recordings. This mixed-methodological approach helps to demonstrate that historical constructions of Zelenka-as-a-person influence the emotions of scholars, musicians and listeners in the present day, while also providing new ways of studying responses to music from within the history of emotions. By doing this, the thesis refreshes our historical view of Zelenka, and shows how “figures” of composers from the past can exert a coercive emotional influence over present-day musical, pedagogical and historiographical practices.
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Item"Speaking in tongues": an investigation into a compositional practice informed by intercultural exploration( 2019)There is an existing context for contemporary composers engaging in intercultural exploration through creative work, both in Australia and internationally. Taking a practice-led research approach, this study by composer Tim Dargaville investigates the ways that ceremonial forms and ritual practices can inform the creation of new music and the development of a personal compositional language. A folio of five compositions for solo instrument, string quartet, chamber ensembles and orchestra, with scores and recordings will be accompanied by a dissertation that aims to contextualise the process of creation, locating the development of the works within a broader understanding of approaches to intercultural exploration undertaken by Australian and international contemporary composers.
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ItemDomenico Scarlatti's Construction of a Spanish Style( 2018)The question of Domenico Scarlatti’s Spanish style has been the subject of a significant body of commentary and analysis for more than a century. Over that period, Scarlatti’s Spanish idiom has generally been viewed through the prism of Alhambrism and flamenco music, two visions inherited from late nineteenth-century representations of Spain. The commercial success of flamenco as a multidisciplinary art representative of Spain, together with stereotypes of Spanish, Gypsy and Andalusian cultures, have thus shaped the reception of Domenico Scarlatti’s music in the twentieth and into the twenty-first centuries. This thesis deconstructs such narratives and investigates Scarlatti’s construction of a new Spanish style in its historical, cultural and musical contexts, drawing on the musical documents that are contemporary with the composer. Scarlatti’s years in Spain (1729-1757) coincided with an effervescent period in the genesis and development of what today are recognized as Spanish classical dances, seguidillas, boleros, fandangos and jotas. Those dances were performed in the theatres as part of the entr’actes (entremeses, sainetes) of dramatic plays (comedias). From there, they spread across Europe, replacing the chaconne and sarabande as the typical markers in the characterisation of Spanishness. Examples of these new Spanish dances abound within the entr’acte repertoire and have proven fruitful in identifying the dance-structure of certain sonatas by Scarlatti. This research has been reinforced by the author’s practical approach, namely through the observation of, and experimentation and performance with, Spanish dancers, both those with folk training and background and those trained in the bolero school. In the course of my research, I have examined and performed about 550 sonatas today attributed to Domenico Scarlatti in order to identify the Spanish sonata-dances discussed in this dissertation. Additionally, I have focused on the Essercizi, the earliest dated collection of Scarlatti’s keyboard works, to explore the composer’s new keyboard language and construction of a distinct Spanish idiom. The applications of this research to performance are illustrated in a series of recordings and a DVD.